YMCA program helps minorities map the future
Published 12:01 am Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Val Hennings found his route to college through the YMCA of Snohomish County Minority Achievers Program.
Hennings, who is African American, said MAP opened up many doors for him when he was exploring his potential to pursue higher education.
“I really didn’t think that I would go to college right after high school,” Hennings said. “MAP helped me out tremendously. I’m finishing my last quarter at Everett Community College this winter and I’m going to transfer to UW Bothell.”
Hennings could have looked to the leader of the MAP for inspiration. JJ Frank, the Y’s Minority Achievers Program director, started MAP in 2001 to motivate and support students of color and immigrant students to achieve higher educational and career goals.
A Black Achievers Program began in 1971 in New York’s Harlem neighborhood. As that idea spread across the country for the next 30 years, groups changed the name to Minority Achievers, Frank said.
That name was the perfect fit, he said.
His MAP, started in 2001, has program coordinators working at sites in Marysville, three in Mukilteo, two in Monroe and three in the Everett School District.
Students meet twice a week after school, and may receive tutoring, mentoring, case management and career planning help, or take field trips and do volunteer service and learning projects.
Frank may be a familiar name to those who follow sports. At Everett High School, he was captain of the football, basketball and track teams. Some pounds ago, and with more hair, Frank said he was a running back at the University of Washington when the Huskies played in back-to-back Rose Bowl games in 1991 and 1992, winning the national championship in 1992.
He is married to Patrice and they live in Stanwood with their children, Josiah, 7, and Gianna, 5. The family is very active at Bible Way Church in Everett.
Frank was raised by a single mother. He has a college degree in African-American Ethnic Studies. He worked for the city of Everett in gang intervention and took his job at the Y in 1998.
“I wanted to connect with kids,” Frank said. “They were not graduating from high school.”
He said he couldn’t think of a better place to make a connection than through the Y.
There are more than 400 students in MAP. Some in the program receive scholarships in late May with the support of Everett Trust Foundation.
Frank said 76 percent of the MAP students receive free or reduced lunches.
“A lot of our students unfortunately are experiencing poverty,” he said. “What it says is we need to get more support around these students so they can achieve academically.”
They’ve visited college campuses and stayed in dormitories for a week at Gonzaga University in Spokane. Those students learned about starting their own businesses.
“They meet professionals of color so they can see themselves potentially like them one day,” Frank said. “They met Superior Court Judge Eric Lucas who talked about his journey.”
Frank said of the students who are in the MAP for at least two years, 87 percent graduate from high school.
He said he is always fundraising. He hopes companies will provide internships or offer job-shadow opportunities. Students enjoy tours of businesses, he said.
Val Hennings said his home life was steady, but hectic.
“I had two older brothers and my mom constantly looking for work,” Hennings said. “I chose to join the MAP because I could get help I needed to complete my homework.”
Hennings said he liked how friendly and inviting everyone was in the program. Frank still keeps in touch, Henning said, and the program was filled with encouraging, motivational role models.
“It was also fun. As long as we got our homework done, we could go to the Y and out for pizza.”
Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.
Learn more
For more information, call JJ Frank at 360-651-1611 or e-mail jfrank@ymca-snoco.org.
